March 1, 2005 - Today's Other News Items

Campus Plan Update Underway

A plan to guide campus development for the next 10 years is the subject of an upcoming open house and public hearing. The UO's Long Range Campus Development Plan guides the design of the campus so that it is a functional, flexible and a beautiful place, according to Chris Ramey, director of UO Planning. The current plan was last updated in 1991.

The campus itself is a strong recruitment tool for faculty and staff, as well as students, for whom the "look and feel of campus" is an important consideration in their decision about which school to attend. A vital campus plan helps to avoid mistakes of the past while retaining the best qualities of the campus. It provides a guide for the careful stewardship needed to prevent losing open spaces and distinguishing features to new construction.

"While the current plan's basic concepts remain effective, the update is needed to evaluate potential improvements and to revise outdated information," Ramey says. Public input is a cornerstone of the university's planning process.

An on-campus open house will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, in the EMU concourse. Individuals may obtain copies of the draft, revised plan at the open house, view campus maps and diagrams, and ask campus planners questions about the current plan and proposed changes.

The last step in the review process will be a public hearing before the Campus Planning Committee from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, in the EMU Rogue River Room.

The hearing will mark the end of a 10-month update process that began last summer when key campus and community members met to define the scope of the update and the participation process. In the fall, an advisory group, representing faculty, staff and students, and other key parties, reviewed the development of a draft document. Campus Planners also met with other groups to review subject-specific portions of the plan and made presentations to nearby neighborhood organizations.

Following the public hearing, the committee will review the updated Campus Plan and prepare a recommendation to the university president, who will have final approval authority. The last step is the submission of the update plan to the City of Eugene to confirm its continued consistency with local planning policies.

More detail about proposed changes and a draft copy of the plan will be available after February 17 on the University Planning Office web page at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uplan/LRCDPUpdateCoverPage.html

For more news on university people, events and programs, you're invited to read the current issue of Inside Oregon, the official e-newsletter for UO faculty, staff and graduate teaching fellows.